


some things never change (let them look)

by shinryujin



Series: shinryujin's Drabble Week [1]
Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Domestic, Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/F, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Mentioned Hwang Yeji, No Plot/Plotless, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Roommates, Shin Ryujin-Centric, Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, shinryujin's drabble week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26460481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinryujin/pseuds/shinryujin
Summary: Ryujin and Yeji go shopping for home décor.
Relationships: Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin
Series: shinryujin's Drabble Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923559
Comments: 1
Kudos: 46





	some things never change (let them look)

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything in a long time since I haven't really been doing well mental health-wise. Even my ongoing ones are currently on-hold until I start feeling better and capable enough to continue them. But I really want to get back into writing again so I thought maybe I could do a drabble week challenge for myself just to kick things off for me.
> 
> My idea for this drabble (and the rest of the ones I'll be doing for my drabble week challenge) came from the amazing author [Aera](http://twitter.com/gottaberyu/)'s writing prompt thread [here](https://twitter.com/gottaberyu/status/1303354035123163136). 
> 
> **Prompt:** “It smells like vanilla.”

The home décor store Ryujin and Yeji were shopping at in busy Myeongdeong was playing calming lofi hiphop songs — pretty much like every other store in South Korea. Not that Ryujin was complaining, especially when the playlist matched the cold, rainy weather outside. For a minute there, she got so distracted by the raindrops hitting the pavements that the cart she was pushing accidentally hit Yeji’s rear end.

“Ow,” the girl in front of Ryujin pouted. She rubbed the side of her bum that got hurt in an attempt to soothe it, aiming a scowl at Ryujin. “What did you do that for?”

“Sorry, love,” replied Ryujin, patting Yeji’s bum softly as if doing so would ease the pain. “It’s not my fault you’re so pretty that I got distracted.” She feigned annoyance by rolling her eyes but ended up laughing at Yeji rolling her eyes back. Ryujin wasn’t much for public display of affection but the urge to kiss the older girl in a place littered with customers swelled in her chest. Fortunately, she was able to hold back before she could feel sick for wanting to be all in-your-face about her love for the girl in front of her.

Just a bit more and they could go home. Just a bit more until Ryujin could finally be sweet with the love of her life, enough to cause anyone tooth decay.

Yeji ran through the shopping list she prepared and cross-checked it with the items already in the cart. She stuck out a pointer finger and mumbled, probably counting and identifying if she’d missed any items. She frowned as she did a double take on her list then sighed in relief. “Okay, I think we’re almost done,” declared Yeji. “Can you get us couple mugs, though? Just so we could finish faster. I’ll take charge of the scented candles and bring the cart with me.”

The younger girl looked slightly displeased at the situation, shooting Yeji a small pout. “You don’t want to help me choose? Okay,” she said jokingly, sighing as she walked away, shoulders slumping. She heard Yeji laugh as she did so, and Ryujin could swear she felt butterfly wings flapping against the walls of her stomach.

A few moments later, Ryujin came to find Yeji still in the candle aisle, eyebrows creased in indecisiveness. Ryujin placed the ceramic, cat-printed, pastel mugs in the cart and watched as the older girl rummaged through shelves and stocks of scented candles, taking a whiff of each scent and trying to figure out what she liked best. If she ever noticed Ryujin come back from mug-hunting, she didn’t acknowledge it; she was much too focused on the candles in her hands.

“Oh! This one! Wow,” the other girl finally beamed, eyes lighting up as she inhaled the scent of the white candle in her right hand. “It smells like vanilla. Smell it!” She practically shoved the unlit candle in Ryujin’s face, but the latter happily obliged despite preparing a sarcastic comment in her brain.

And out it went like word vomit. “It literally says ‘vanilla’ on the label,” Ryujin quipped. “What did you expect it to smell like, chocolate?”

Unfazed and quite used to the younger girl’s antics, Yeji just rolled her eyes again and wore a playful smirk on her lips. “You know what I mean!” she said, putting the candle in her left hand back on the shelf and getting more of the vanilla-scented ones. As a vanilla enthusiast, Yeji has had her fair share of coming across vanilla-scented everything that smelled too artificial. Her nose would itch every single time. But the vanilla candles she found were perfect — subtle, gentle and light. Not too overpowering. You could smell it even from a distance, and yet it doesn’t come on too strong when it’s up close.

Funnily enough, all these reminded her of her favourite person, who was just listening to her ramble on about scented candles in general, and the difference between the vanilla-scented candle she was holding and the other vanilla ones that made her nose hurt. What would’ve been boring topics for anyone else seemed to be interesting enough for Ryujin.

As she listened to the older girl talk, Ryujin suddenly wondered where the time went. Being roommates for almost ten years meant that they had done a lot of domestic activities together, like buying groceries, panic-buying supplies in the convenience store after forgetting to buy them at the grocery, buying home décor and new sheets and pillowcases, taking turns cooking, cleaning, washing the dishes, and watering plants. Her mind took her to a memory so similar it could’ve been just a déjà vu.

They were in their fourth year of being roommates then, buying cheap candles (and other stuff like book ends and stationery) with what little allowance their company gave them for the week, and Yeji couldn’t decide between the lavender- and ocean-scented ones. As she held her options in her hands, she went through her mental list of pros and cons for each one and almost talked Ryujin's ear off as she did so. In the end, they decided to buy one of each and used some money from their own pockets to pay off what the allowance couldn't cover completely.

It was crazy to think that they both could still feel the same butterflies inside their bellies after all these years. Even crazier how Ryujin was just standing in awe-filled silence, listening to Yeji talk about candles the way she used to back when they were buying home décor as roommates — except now, Ryujin was listening to Yeji talk about candles while buying home décor as fiancées for the new apartment they were moving into after they get married. Time flew and yet, it was as if no time had passed.

_“Maybe next time we could try the tropical breeze scent… ooh, or the garden scent ones! I don’t think we’ve tried those before. Seriously considering the chocolate scent and the coffee one, too, but like —“_

The younger girl interrupted the older one’s thoughts with the kiss that she had been trying to hold back for more than an hour. She pulled Yeji even closer by the small of her back, careful not to crash into the candle display. As their eyes fluttered shut and lips locked seamlessly, Ryujin could almost feel her fiancée go weak in the knees; she held her even tighter.

It didn’t matter that they were out in the open. It didn’t matter that the rain stopped pouring moments ago and the playlist changed into bossa nova. It didn’t matter what candles they’d end up buying. It didn’t matter that people had eyes on them. No one else mattered to Ryujin in that moment but Yeji. _Let them look, I don’t care,_ she thought.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been wanting to do that,” she said as she pulled away from Yeji and took her hand proudly. “You were saying?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please follow my writing account on twitter ([@solaryushin](https://twitter.com/solaryushin)) if you haven't, but only if you want to hehe. I hope you liked this one, and if you did, please do feel free to leave some kudos and some nice comments uwu. Thank you!


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